If you’ve spent any time on a golf course, chances are you’ve met a scratch golfer. They seem to have excellent posture and can make impossible shots.
At this point, you may be wondering, what is a scratch golfer? In that case, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s take a look at what makes these players special.
What Is a Scratch Golfer?
Scratch golfer is a term we use to describe a particularly talented player. There are multiple occasions where the name is appropriate.
Scratch Origins
Even though we use the term to describe golf players, it originates from running tracks.
To ensure the fairness of a race, a referee would scratch a line into the ground. Runners would then use that as a guide for their starting point.
Typically, all the participants would stand on the line and wait for the race to begin. However, the slowest runners would sometimes get the chance to start a little over the mark.
That means that only the fastest racers remain standing on the scratch line. For that reason, we call talented sportsmen scratches.
Let’s dive into when you can use the term.
Informal Term
This version of the term applies to when you’re hanging out with a few golfer buddies on the course.
Scratch player here will mean a person has a handicap index of zero. This refers to the golfer being able to hole out the ball consistently on the field.
You can still use the term if the player doesn’t carry a handicap index. However, for scratch to apply, the golfer will need to score around par or incredibly close to it.
At this point, you can simply refer to the player as a scratch.
Formal Term
The United States Golf Association set out a few guidelines for the term scratch golfer.
These include:
- The player can golf on a course with a handicap of zero.
- The handicap index must remain zero for all related golf courses.
- The player isn’t competing on the professional level.
Once someone checks off all these criteria, we can call them a scratch golfer.
To make matters a little simpler, let’s dive into what that means on the field.
For male players, it refers to someone capable of hitting tee shots with an average of 250 yards. In addition, they should be able to reach a 470-yard hole with only two strikes.
Moving on, for female players to qualify, they must hit a tee shot with an average of 210 yards. Plus, reach a 400-yard hole with two strikes.
Wrapping Up
What is a scratch golfer? The term originated from track races and it describes a talented player.
There are a couple of ways to use the name, formal and informal. The latter refers to amateur players when they hold a handicap index of zero.
To qualify for the formal term, you’ll need to meet additional criteria. That includes keeping your handicap index at zero regardless of the course.
In addition, the golfer shouldn’t be a professional player.
